Our mission is simple: we want to build a culture of welcome in Bradford. We want every institution, community group, public service and venue to be welcoming and inclusive for sanctuary seekers. We believe that people seeking safety in our city deserve to feel welcomed in every aspect of daily life, and that our communities are stronger when everyone is included.
Bradford City of Sanctuary is proud to be part of a national movement of over 100 sanctuary groups in the UK. Between us, we aim to spread our message of welcome across every town, city and county.
Founded in 2008, Bradford City of Sanctuary has three staff members and a fantastic team of volunteers who work to make Bradford more inclusive and welcoming for all. All of our work is informed by our advisory group of people with lived experience of the refugee journey.
Our Work Includes:
- Supporting organisations from across Bradford to work towards achieving a sanctuary award, ranging from schools and gardens to train stations.
- Contributing to forums and networks around the city and working with our local authority of sanctuary to make sure that refugee voices are represented.
- Building networks across the city, connecting organisations and promoting best practice.
- Advocating for sanctuary seekers, informed by our advisory group of people with lived experience.
- Creating accessible, useful resources for sanctuary seekers, such as welcomebradford.org and freeinbradford.org.
- Building understanding about issues affecting sanctuary seekers in Bradford through giving talks, running events and engaging with local media.
If you would like to request a talk or interactive session, or if you would like us to help you organise an event please contact us.
If you are new to Bradford we recommend visiting the Welcome to Bradford website, which has lots of useful information and can be translated into over 40 languages.